The Rise of the European Emperor

In fact, as an important business representative of Duke Jorge de Rencastre of Coimbra, Redondo has a lot of authority on this issue, and can even decide on this cooperation.

However, Redondo came this time to obtain porcelain and silk at internal prices. Therefore, he deliberately made the problem very complicated. Then, as expected, he made a request to buy another batch of porcelain and silk. Moreover, on the surface, this guy said it very righteously, as if it would not make Marin suffer. However, now that Marin needs them, how can he not suffer?

In the end, Marin could only pinch his nose, and took Redondo to the warehouse, and asked him to choose dozens of fine porcelain and a batch of exquisite silk. As for the price, it must be a very favorable price...

Of course, Marin won't suffer either. Even with a preferential price, he still has huge profits. For example, porcelain, although there is no huge profit of more than 60 times in the Lisbon auction, after a 50% discount, it still has a huge profit of 20 to 30 times.

As for silk, it is not so profitable. This is because porcelain cannot be produced in Europe, but silk is still available. For example, Florence, Italy and Lyon, France are both important silk spinning centers in Europe. Although the quality of European silk is inferior, it still solves the problem of having and not having it. Therefore, silk cannot be sold at sky-high prices. But because of its good quality and reputation, it is still several times more expensive than local European silk.

...

Redondo took advantage of it, so naturally he went back satisfied. But Marin is not at a loss. In addition to the low cost of porcelain and silk, he also takes advantage of this trade cooperation.

According to the preliminary intention reached with Redondo, once the two parties confirm the cooperation, Redondo will establish a trading company in Portugal, specializing in the trade of rhino horns and hides on the West African grasslands. The range of business locations is in the later generations of Senegal and southern Mauritania. Of course, if you have the ability, you can also go deep into the inland area...

After obtaining this permission, Marin will form a team and go to the Senegal region to engage in the acquisition of rhino hides and horns. Of course, they also have a very important job to guide the local black uncles to kill rhinos...

The black uncles are not very smart, and they are helpless in the face of the thick-skinned and fierce rhinoceros. Therefore, Marin's team will guide the local blacks to use traps to kill rhinos.

At the same time, Marin will also ask the forge to create a batch of extremely sharp high-carbon steel short knives and give them to the local black leaders. The function of the short knife is to let the black uncles cut the thick rhinoceros hide after killing the rhinoceros. In order to prevent the rhinoceros hide from being too difficult to cut, this special short knife also has serrations. If you can't cut it, you can use a saw...

High carbon steel may not be the best for long sabers because of the lack of toughness. However, for short knives, because the blade is short, toughness is not so important. Besides, the dagger won't go head-to-head with other weapons...

As long as the local blacks are taught how to hunt and kill rhinos, and they are given a dagger to cut the rhino hides, Marin must be able to buy enough and cheap enough rhino hides. Because, those black uncles are really easy to deceive...

As for the number of rhinos, according to Sir Redondo, who is in charge of West African trade affairs, there are rhinos everywhere on the West African savannah in this era. There are no less than a few thousand black rhinos on the grasslands along the coast of Senegal alone. If it is going deep inland, it is estimated that there will be more. Anyway, the grasslands are full of...

In fact, these rhinos are also a scourge for local blacks. why? The presence of rhinos will affect their agricultural activities!

As a border area of ​​the Mali Empire, Senegal actually had relatively primitive agriculture. Relying on large rivers such as the Senegal River and the Gambia River, the locals have also opened up a lot of farmland for growing sorghum, rice and cotton. Moreover, there is also the cattle industry and the relatively extensive fishing industry.

However, ferocious large animals such as rhinos and elephants have become the biggest hazard to local people's agriculture. Even, they are much more harmful to agriculture than carnivores.

You know, those carnivores will definitely not harm the crops. At most, step on the crops when passing by. However, elephants are different from rhinos, they are herbivores! And crops, unfortunately, are also one of the herbaceous plants...

As long as elephants and rhinos pass through croplands, their huge bodies can not only trample a lot of crops, but also often eat a lot of crops.

Unfortunately, most of these crops are planted on the edge of Yamato for easy irrigation. Elephants and rhinos also like to go to the big river to drink water... Therefore, there are naturally many crops that are harmed by elephants and rhinos...

And those local blacks, because they lack the weapons to deal with rhinos and elephants, often can only watch them harm the crops without daring to stop them. Otherwise, if you offend these uncles, you will die...

...

How should I put it, with the existence of these herbivorous giants, the locals don't want to farm well. Even if a fence is built, in front of the elephants and rhinos, the fence or something will disappear immediately with a slight arch... Then, the crops should be stepped on and eaten...

And if you want to deal with these powerful elephant herds and rhinos, you often need to use an army with metal weapons. But the Senegal region belongs to the remote areas of the Mali Empire, so naturally there is no army or metal weapons. Faced with the destruction of elephants and rhinos, local farmers can only accept their fate...

In fact, the extinction of the black rhinoceros in West Africa in later generations is also inseparable from the driving and hunting of them by local farmers. If you want to farm well, these big men must die, or must be driven away.

After driving away these domineering men, agriculture in West Africa has indeed developed to a certain extent. At least, not as short of food as in East Africa.

In contrast, East Africa. Wildlife in East Africa is very well preserved. In order to protect the animals on the East African prairie, the brain-dead leaders in East Africa followed the advice of Western countries and established a large number of nature reserves to protect wild animals such as wildebeests, zebras, antelopes, and bison that migrated on a large scale...

And with these herbivorous wild animals running rampant on the East African prairie, don't even think about farming locally. why? Even if you grow food, once you encounter a herd of wildebeests or antelopes migrating past your home, they can eat up the crops for you. Where the herd passes by, the crops are left alone...

Then, the East African countries are very short of food, people starve to death every year, and the children are as thin as skeletons...

But these idiots never thought that as long as they hunted a large group of migrating wildebeest, they could make a lot of jerky and feed many people who were dying of starvation.

Then, without the harassment of those herbivores, food can still be grown locally. Even if the land is not fertile, how about growing potatoes and corn?

But the brain circuits of those black uncle officials are different from those of people. They would rather starve to death a large number of citizens than protect those wildebeests, antelopes, and zebras... It seems that those animals are their citizens, and their citizens , they are all irrelevant beasts...

...

Anyway, Marin felt that it was for the sake of the locals that he sent people to help the locals hunt rhinos on the West African prairie. This is a win-win thing, and it is for the survival and development of local human beings. As for those beasts, can they compare with humans? Therefore, hunting rhinos is just. If you don't believe me, China's agriculture has developed, and the rhinos and South China tigers are almost extinct... If rhinos and South China tigers are still everywhere, can everyone still farm well?